Actor R. Lee Ermey in 2005, arriving at A&E TV upfront celebration at Rockefeller Center in New York. (Photo: FERNANDO LEON/GETTY IMAGES)
R. Lee Ermey, the character actor famous for his bristling, Golden Globe-nominated role as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket, has died at age 74.
Ronald Lee Ermey was himself a Marine for 11 years (who retired in 1971), a staff sergeant who served in Vietnam and Okinawa, Japan, and was later awarded the honorary rank of gunnery sergeant.
The actor was known for playing military and law-enforcement figures, including the voice of Sarge, the leader of the little green army men in the Toy Story movies; Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake franchise; and a police captain in Se7en (1995).
His manager, Bill Rogin, shared the news of Ermey's death on social media Sunday night, and said the actor died from complications of pneumonia.
"It is extremely difficult to truly quantify all of the great things this man has selflessly done for, and on behalf of, our many men and women in uniform," Rogin wrote. "He has also contributed many iconic and indelible characters on film that will live on forever.
"Please support your men and women in uniform. That's what he wanted most of all. Semper Fi, Gunny. Godspeed."
Ermey studied criminology and drama at the University of Manila after his time in the military, and launched his acting career as a Marine in 1978's The Boys in Company C. Francis Ford Coppola hired him for an uncredited role as a helicopter pilot in 1979's Apocalypse Now.
His big breakthrough came with Full Metal Jacket, for which he was initially hired to train the actor cast as the drill sergeant before being given the role himself.
"I had a family and had to make a living. But every time I quit (acting), I'd get invited back to do something else," he told USA TODAY in 2006. "Life is just (expletive) beautiful. I couldn't have written a better script."
He went on to make more than 60 movies and scores of TV spots, including voice roles on The Simpsons (as Colonel Leslie Hapablap) and Family Guy.
"I'm not like the characters I play — my wife wouldn't allow me through the door if I was," Ermey told USA TODAY. "But there's no misconception. There's not a politically correct bone in my body. I pretty much call a spade a spade."
Matthew Modine, his Full Metal Jacket co-star, quoted poet Dylan Thomas as he remembered the actor.
Donald J. Trump Jr. hailed Ermey as "a legend and a great American."
Here's Rogin's full statement on Ermey's death:
"It is with deep sadness that I regret to inform you all that R. Lee Ermey ("The Gunny") passed away this morning from complications of pneumonia. He will be greatly missed by all of us. It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for. He has meant so much to so many people. And it is extremely difficult to truly quantify all of the great things this man has selflessly done for, and on behalf of, our many men and women in uniform. He has also contributed many iconic and indelible characters on film that will live on forever. Gunnery Sergeant Hartman of Full Metal Jacket fame was a hard and principled man. The real R. Lee Ermey was a family man, and a kind and gentle soul. He was generous to everyone around him. And, he especially cared deeply for others in need. "There is a quote made famous in Full Metal Jacket. It's actually the Riflemen's Creed. 'This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.' "There are many Gunny's, but this one was OURS. And, we will honor his memory with hope and kindness. Please support your men and women in uniform. That's what he wanted most of all. "Semper Fi, Gunny. Godspeed."
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Born Ronald Lee Ermey in Kansas in 1944, Ermey enlisted at the age of 17 and spent 11 years in the Marine Corps., receiving a post-retirement honorary promotion to gunnery sergeant in 2002. According to his official website, Ermey spent two years whipping new recruits into shape as a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego before being deployed in 1968 to Vietnam, where he spent 14 months, and serving two tours in Okinawa.
R. Lee Ermey, a former Marine who made a career in Hollywood playing hard-nosed military men like Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket," has died.
Ermey's longtime manager Bill Rogin says he died Sunday morning from pneumonia-related complications. He was 74.
The Kanas native was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his memorable performance in "Full Metal Jacket," in which he immortalized lines such as: "What is your major malfunction?"
His co-stars Matthew Modine and Vincent D'Onofrio tweeted their condolences Sunday evening.
"#SemperFidelis Always faithful. Always loyal. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light," Modine wrote, quoting the Dylan Thomas poem. "RIP amigo. PVT. Joker."
Vincent D'Onofrio added: "Ermey was the real deal. The knowledge of him passing brings back wonderful memories of our time together."
Born Ronald Lee Ermey in 1944, Ermey served 11 years in the Marine Corps and spent 14 months in Vietnam and then in Okinawa, Japan, where he became staff sergeant. His first film credit was as a helicopter pilot in Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now," which was quickly followed by a part in "The Boys in Company C" as a drill instructor.
He raked in more than 60 credits in film and television across his long career in the industry, often playing authority figures in everything from "Se7en" to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake.
The part he would become most well-known for, in "Full Metal Jacket," wasn't even originally his. Ermey had been brought on as a technical consultant for the 1987 film, but he had his eyes on the role of the brutal gunnery sergeant and filmed his own audition tape of him yelling out insults while tennis balls flew at him. An impressed Kubrick gave him the role.
Kubrick told Rolling Stone that 50 percent of Ermey's dialogue in the film was his own.
"In the course of hiring the marine recruits, we interviewed hundreds of guys. We lined them all up and did an improvisation of the first meeting with the drill instructor. They didn't know what he was going to say, and we could see how they reacted. Lee came up with, I don't know, 150 pages of insults," Kubrick said.
According to Kubrick, Ermey also had a terrible car accident one night in the middle of production and was out for four and half months with broken ribs.
Ermey would also go on to voice the little green army man Sarge in the "Toy Story" films. He also played track and field coach and Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman in "Prefontaine," General Kramer in "Toy Soldiers" and Mayor Tilman in "Mississippi Burning."
Ermey also hosted the History Channel series "Mail Call" and "Lock N' Load with R. Lee Ermey" and was a board member for the National Rifle Association, as well as a spokesman for Glock.
"He will be greatly missed by all of us," Rogin said. "It is a terrible loss that nobody was prepared for."
Rogin says that while his characters were often hard and principled, the real Ermey was a family man and a kind and gentle soul who supported the men and women who serve.
